


Don't Judge A Book By It's Cover

by spacenerrrd



Series: Sander Sides Fics [1]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Angst, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Fluff, I'm Bad At Tagging, M/M, Panic Attacks, Romantic Fluff, not sympathetic deceit
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-22
Updated: 2019-07-14
Packaged: 2020-01-23 17:40:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18554611
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spacenerrrd/pseuds/spacenerrrd
Summary: Logan runs a library in a small town, allowing him to share his love of books without feeling left out. His business partner and friend Roman helps by running the bright Disney themed cafe that attracts more people to stay for longer. The two clashing but somehow perfect match of a friendship went their days peaceful in their small community until one day a new pair of brother; Patton and Virgil, moved into town and showed the owners a new way of live.





	1. Introductions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan and Roman get a visit from some brothers who are new to their area. Introductions pursue.  
> ~~  
> Warning: Suggestions of bad relationships in the past but nothing too serious!

Click.

Logan turned the handle and opened the door to the library. The air was slightly warmer than outside but he still rushed over to turn the heater on low. 

Flick.

The area started to illuminate as the lights flickered on. Logan's blank expression shared a small smile for a second while he look at shelf after shelf of books with millions of possibilities. His smile quickly faded when he heard the usual boots clicking along the wooden boards.

“Greetings Roman.”

“Yo Microsoft nerd.” Roman was wearing his usual prince like outfit as he walked towards his little cafe in the corner. 

Logan groaned at the name and spun to face him. “What is your need to call me that? My name's Logan and all of our systems are based off Google software.”

Roman shrugged, tying up the apron around his waist. The bright red and golden crown matched the rest of his aesthetic as he turned on the lights, showing the rows of different sweet and savoury treats. “I don't know, it sounds better than 'Google geek’.”

Logan nodded once, going behind the desk and logging in and booting up the system. “We got a new order of children books that I didn't know of. I'm assuming that they are for your children's corner Roman.”

“Oh heck yea! The kids have been asking for something new for story time and so I have provided.” Roman said cheerfully as he put out the seats and tables to set up for his customers. The again red table tops and back of seats with gold legs filled up the space next to a velvet red carpeted area. Pillows and bean bags littered the area with a throne like seat statutes next to a self full of bright and colourful picture books.

Logan gave a single nod before going to the control panel.

Clank.

The shutter door started to roll open, allowing the public to enter the library that slowly was being filled with soft Disney songs and the aroma of coffee and treats.

There was nothing abnormal about the day. There were the usual kids who needed to escape through the world of books walking in, the elders who loved Logan's appreciation for a classic and held quiet clubs. Students came in to get study help in every subject from school and always went home with the reassurance that they wouldn't fail. The afternoon was filled of laughter from the young children enjoying Roman's storytime and playing around. The parents thanked them for the coffee as they made friends with each other. The library started to settle down soon after they went to dinner. The usual kids who needed a place to go talked with Roman and Logan for a distraction or advice since they had nowhere to go. Although it wasn't their intention when they first built the library, but it became a safe place for everyone in the community and has helped so many people.

The not so abnormal day was soon about to change as Logan was greeted at the front desk by a man with a smile so bright it would put the Sun at shame. His eyes seemed to sparkle behind his glasses and the cardigan around his shoulders gave a homely feeling. Next to him stood a obviously younger man in a dark purple hoodie, patches covering the designs. His purple hair stuck out from his hood that blocked view from his face and the headphones pumping loudly into his poor ears. 

“Greetings, I'm Logan. Is there anything I could help you with?”

“Hello! I'm Patton and this is my brother Virgil.” Patton said cheerfully, pulling his brother closer by the shoulder who ended up death staring him down. “We’re new to the neighbourhood and-”

“Heard you have coffee.” Virgil mumbled, still not looking up fully. 

“Virg, don't be rude.”

“It's quite alright. Just go over to the corner and Roman will be happy to serve you.”

Virgil grunted and dragged his feet over to the bright cafe. 

“I'm sorry about my brother. It was just a very big move for us.” Patton apologised, still smiling brightly. 

“That's alright, I understand change can be difficult. Now, is there anything you'd like me to help you with in particular?”

“Nothing much Lo, was just going to look around.”

“My name's Logan, and I'd be happy to give you a tour.” Logan commented, adjusting his tie and pushing up his glasses.

“Aww really! I'd love that Lo!”

Logan gritted his teeth slightly as he hated the way his heart was reacting to the way Patton said his name.

~~_ Not again. _ ~~

~~_ Not after what they did. _ ~~

~~_ You promised you wouldn't feel. _ ~~

~~**_Don't let anyone hurt you._ ** ~~

Logan nodded once and started heading down the library, hearing Patton's feet lightly tap behind with small skips in between. How is this guy so happy?

“So on the left is our fictional sides and on the right is our non-fiction. It goes from young to teens and up to adults the further you walk. The selection such as picture books is back towards the cafe but up here you have chapter books sorted into their style and author while the….” Logan had realised he was talking about the library without wondering what Patton wanted to actually look at. “I apologise greatly. I started to go on without seeing if you were interested.” He turned to face Patton and was face to face with wide and shimmering eyes. 

“My golly Lo, you certainly are organised, and there's no need for sorrys, you did exactly what I asked. I wanted a tour and you gave it to me!”

“Well then, I guess I should say you're welcome. Is there anything else you would like to see?”

Patton thought for a moment, finger drumming on chin. “Well, I would love to go see the cafe! Wonder how Virgil's going.”

Logan nodded once before changing their direction towards the cafe. Currently the only people there were Virgil sitting on one of the stools and Roman leaning across the counter with a smirk on his face. When they got closer they could hear some of what Roman was speaking about.

“....so as I was saying, you don't need to add much more sugar because you're sweet enough.” He added a wink.

Virgil blushed as red as a tomato, looking like he had put up with it for some time. Staring straight at Roman, he grabbed the sugar pourer and tipped it into his mug so it was at least half way full of sugar. It was now his turn to smirk as Roman was left speechless, staring at the now ruined coffee.

“Hey kiddo, how's it down this end?” Patton said cheerfully as he pulled up beside Virgil.

“It got better.” Virgil's smirk was still there as he slid the coffee back across the bench to the still shocked Roman.

Logan's face turned to one of concern. “Was there something wrong with your drink? We can give you a full refund.”

“No no, it was just right.”

Logan was still confused but gave a single nod. “Well I am glad that you guys came in. It's always good to see new people around.”

“It was splendid to see this place Lo! I'm so glad we decided to stop by.” Patton looked at his watch and his eyes went wide. “Well my golly would you look at the time? It really does fly when you're having fun. We should best be off, thank you Roman and Lo!”

“It's Logan, and please come in anytime.” He called out to Patton and Virgil as they walked out. He turned back around to face Roman. “Was there something wrong with the coffee?”

“No no, the kid is just playing hard to crack.” Roman laughed before dumping the cup of sweet coffee. “So what about you and sunshine? He seemed to be pretty happy with you.”

“He wasn't. Even if he was you know that I wouldn't be getting involved in those type of activities again.”

“Come on, it's was years ago.”

“No Roman.”

“You need to learn to feel again. This isn't healthy to cut every emotion off and to isolate yourself.”

“Roman stop!” Logan looked up with a angelry expression in his face, teeth grinding together harder than gears. His eyes though held an emotion that was more sadness than anything.

He fell silent as he never seen Logan express emotion like that in so long. A thick silence fell between the two. 

“I'll close up. You can go home.”

“Logan-”

“Leave.”

Roman nodded slowly, giving an apologetic smile as he collected his stuff and headed off.

Logan sighed. He turned off all the lights and cleared the tables and seats after cleaning the crumbs. He stared down the library as he look over shelf over. His eyes that had a layer of suffering softened as he looked at the books and world he had made. Shortly the last light was flicked off and Logan rethought of the events of the day. Although he didn't want anything to do with Patton, it would be nice if he came back in. Logan stepped outside, ending up having a small smile as he turned back to lock up.

Click.


	2. Getting To Know You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman makes Virgil blush and Logan feels feelings he doesn't want to feel.  
> ~~  
> Warning: School stresses

Scribbles.

“So you understand that the y-intercept can be found by knowing the gradient of the slope?”

“No I don’t get it. How can you do that? I don’t understand the equation Logan.” The red haired girl hid her freckled face into the heels of her hands.

“Well, let me write it down for you. The equation is  _ y=mx+b _ and the  _ m _ stands for….Lucy?” Logan heard sniffles coming from the girl and his face softened from his usual serious tone when he was tutoring. “It’s alright ok? You’ll pass this test because you’ll understand it.”

“But what if I don’t? I need to pick up my grades in Maths otherwise I won’t make my dream university.” She mumbled in her hands, voice rough from her recent crying.

“Don’t you dare say that you won’t make it. I know you can, believe me. You are one of the most brightest and intelligent young ladies I know and you can do this.” Logan scooted his chair closer and rested a delicate hand on her back. “Look at me Lucy.”

She hesitantly looked up, her shining blue eyes glistened with the tears ran down her cheeks, sticking strings of her hair messily across her face.

“Let’s take a break. Why don’t you get that book you come in when you’ve had a bad day and you can read it to me?”

“How did you-”

“It’s my job to know this stuff. Now go.” Logan gave a soft smile that lit up Lucy’s face as she ran off to search the shelves. He sighed, sorting out the sheets of study papers and notes. He didn’t need to see it to notice the person sit across from him, and somehow feeling the smile radiate off them it would really only be one person. “Greetings Patton, I’m glad to see you back again.”

“Hiya Lo! Gee, this place is just oh so lovely that I couldn’t stay away!” 

“Thank you for the compliment. May I ask where Virgil is?”

“Oh! Yea Virg is just at the cafe. Needs a big ol’ cup of coffee before diving into the books.” Patton’s happiness seemed very dramatic for the situation, but Logan guessed that’s just how he was.

“So he’s still in school.”

“Yes sir-ry! Very much into the music industry and arts. Such a brilliant kiddo he is!”

“He sounds wonderful indeed. Now I’m sorry Patton, but I have a tutoring session currently and she will be back any minute.”

“So that’s who that pretty young chooken was! I saw how you handled her emotions and it just made my heart swell with joy. You seem to be so good with the children. Do you help them a lot? She seemed to be just so comfortable with you like my golly. I would not expect that from you Lo, but I guess you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, am I right?”

Before Logan could even get a word in to reply to any of the questions Lucy had already returned, grinning ear from ear that made him blush. 

“Oh yes, sorry, teaching session going on. I’ll get out of your way.” Patton was still smiling, shuffling his chair back until Lucy spoke up.

“Wait Mr, you can stay. I haven’t seen Logan smile like that in ages.”

“I was not smiling Lucy and you know better.”

“Oh yea, totally. But can you stay? I was only going to read this book anyway. Do you want to sit with us?”

Logan was about to protest the idea before Patton spoke up. “My golly, I would be honoured to listen. You have such a lovely voice.”

Lucy giggled, a light pink covering her cheeks that made her eyes shine brighter. “Why thank you Mr.”

“Please, my names Patton, but most people call me Dad.”

Lucy laughed, smile unfortunately spreading across Logan’s face from seeing her happy. She opened the book, and to little surprise by Logan she started reciting the words from Alice In Wonderland. “ _ Alice was beginning to get very tired of sitting by her sister on the bank, and of having nothing to do: once or twice she had peeped into the book her sister was reading, but it had no pictures or conversations in it, `and what is the use of a book,' thought Alice `without pictures or conversation?' _ ”

Logan looked over at Patton who was resting his head in his hands, eyes sparkling as he listened like she was an angel from heaven. Logan cringed at the small smile that was on his face, but he unfortunately couldn't help it as his heart fluttered that tiny bit more.

\---

Virgil had his headphones ear so loud that it was a wonder how his ears weren’t bleeding. The purple hood covered his face in a shadow, hair assisting as it fell over his eyes. He stood in front of the counter, trying not to smile at the Disney puns of names before he was snapped back when a hand waved in front of his face. He disgruntledly removed a headphone and looked up at a smirking Roman.

“Well hello emo child, glad to see you back here.”

Virgil stared at him. “You’re the closest coffee place….and the best tasting in town.” he grumbled, trying to decide on what to get.

“I suggest the Black Cauldron. It’s the biggest and strongest coffee we have, perfect for study time when you hardly have any sleep.”

“I am not-”

“Bag slung across one shoulder that is shaped to hold books and a laptop, too lazy to wear properly as it’s too close of a walk. Although you seem to cover it with your heavily done eyeshadow, the bags under your eyes are still visible and almost draws attention away to your beautiful eyes.” Roman smirked. “You’re not the only student who’s a favourite here. Soon I’ll know your timetable.”

Virgil stood there speechless, blushing furiously as his eyebrows knitted together. “Just make my damn coffee will you?” He slammed the change on the table and stomped off to one of the tables, the smirk growing wider.

Virgil had his music pumping into both ears again, setting up with a textbook, sheets and an art book he was currently sketching in. He was drifting off from the real world, getting lost in how the pencil worked against the paper until a coffee slid in front of him and someone occupied the spare seat. He sighed heavily, trying to ignore Roman as he took a large gulp from his cup and went back to his book. The boy would of kept going if it wasn’t for the fact that Roman shuffled closer, trying to peer at what Virgil was drawing. He tilted the book away, getting words from Roman that he couldn’t hear. He pulled an earphone out, earning a smirk.

“Whatcha drawing handsome?”

“None of your business.”

“It will be if you’re going to becoming in regularly. Just got out of an art degree myself last year, along with theatre, so I’m making sure you guys actually keep going on the work.”

“How did you know I’m taking an art-”

“I also can tell you’re taking music. Do I really need to go through how I know this, Senior.”

Virgil flushed again, nails digging into his palms in agitation as he pulled his jumper sleeves down.

“I’m not here to pick, we’re here for support, and quite honestly you’re a cutie so I don’t want you to be getting behind sweetheart.”

“I am not sweet. If I was coffee I’d need as much sugar as that coffee did yesterday Princey.”

Roman’s smile faltered at the name, Virgil about to apologies before Roman spoke up again like nothing happened. “You wish. I’ll get the soft side out of you, just wait. I-” Roman was cut off by a small child tugging at his sleeve. The small boy had chocolate brown eyes that matched his hair, small freckles covering his face. “Well hello Miles. What would you like?”   
“Isn’t it story time Ro? We wanna know what happens next!” The small child pointed to a large clock, the arrows pointing to the words STORYTIME in silly font instead of the number 3.

“Well would you look at that it is! Why don’t you go tell the other’s that I’ll be there in just a giffy.”

Miles smiled wide, running of to spread the word to the other children playing.

“I’m sorry to cut our date short, but the children will attack if I don’t go over soon. I’ll come back just after playtime if you’re still here though.” 

“This wasn’t a date-”

“See you later hoodie boy.” Roman winked before standing up and walking over to the the small children who cheered in unisation. Roman smiled at them all, taking his seat in the throne and picking up a book. All the children gathered and sat patiently, wide eyes and bright smiles facing Roman as he narrated the book, facial expressions and different voices for the characters packaged in that had the children laughing.

Virgil tried to make it not obvious that he looked up to watch Roman from time to time. The way the kids seemed to love him to bits that made it extremely hard for Virgil to force a smile down.

\---

Once Lucy had been feeling better and convinced Logan that she was fine to keep working, they went back to work. Patton still sat patiently across from them, learning too from listening to Logan.

Lucy looked at her phone for a moment before having to take a double take, eyes going wide. “Oh god, it’s already 5. I really need to get back home.”

Logan looked confused until he got a glimpse of the time himself. “Oh god Lucy, I’m sorry. I should’ve been looking at the time.” His face turned to one of guilt.

“No no, it’s alright. It’s my responsibility. It shouldn’t be too bad today anyway. Dad’s not home so Mum should be out and won’t even notice.” She smiled, hiding a million different emotions behind it. “See you later Logan, and thanks for spending time with us Patton.”

“Anytime kiddo, I wish you luck for your test.” Patton waved Lucy off, smile still wide. He looked back at Logan and the expression on his face made him worry. “Come on Lo, being home a little bit late shouldn’t be too bad, right?”

Logan looked at Patton, trying to hide any emotion on his face but his eyes betrayed him. “Lucy doesn’t have the best living arrangement at this current moment. She doesn’t have the money to live in campus so she needs to stay there for now.”

Patton smile faltered for a moment. “Oh… well at least she has you and your library to come back to a safe place.”

Logan gave a quick small smile. “Yes, I guess that is a positive.” he started cleaning up the textbooks and scrap paper left on the table, grateful for the silence until Patton was speaking up again. 

“I never would of thought you would be so good with kids Lo!”

“I’m not good with humans. The only thing I know how to do well is to teach and the point of that interaction was to teach.”

“No way! She was crying and you calmed her right down to where she was smiling. If I don’t call that good then people don’t call me Patton.”

“I was merely being factual, it was just a plus that she found it comforting.”

“Whatever you say Lo, but we both know the truth.”

Logan gritted his teeth. Why couldn’t Patton just trust that he was bad with human interaction? If he was good then they would’ve stayed, not hurt him. He wouldn’t be here if he was good with human interaction , so why can’t Patton just admit it. He stayed silent, afraid to open his mouth and walked away to put the textbooks back on the shelf. Logan thought he would be left alone until he could hear the soft skipping on the carpet that was unmistakably Patton. He stayed silent though as he sorted out the textbooks and some other books that he saw were out of place. The entire time Patton trotted behind him, smile still there as he quietly admired everything. Something about the silence was worse than Patton’s talking but he wasn’t going to mention anything. Once he had finished organising the books he turned around to the ball of sunshine following him. “Do you need to get home? I think Virgil has been studying for a considerable amount of time..”

“Oh yes! I bet he’s gotten so much work done. Gosh, i’m just so gosh darn proud of him, ya know?” Patton said cheerfully like everything else, starting to head to the cafe.

“I do know, as you have expressed it in the past before and it is very evident in the way you speak about him.” Logan state, not understanding the question Patton said was mainly rhetorical, but still getting a bright grin in return. He walked over to the cafe, Patton happily trotting alone up to the table Virgil was sitting at. With both of his headphones in he didn’t realise the two coming up and saw him looking over at Roman who was playing with a small girl, parents must of still been at work. The small soft smile being wiped off and being replaced by a flush of red after hearing Patton’s exclamation.

“AWWWW VIRGE!! You’re smile is adorable!! If it was making you that happy you should’ve just asked to join them.”

Virgil’s eyes went wide, turning to see if Roman heard to be met with the princes shining eyes and a laughter tumbling from his lips. Virgil stared at Patton who was oblivious to what he was doing wrong as he started to back up his work. Shoving it into his bag, mumbling something under his breath before stomping off to the exit.

“Well it seems like someone’s on the  _ Virge _ about something.” Patton grinned, giggling at his own joke. Although he did not find it that amusing himself, Logan found himself giving a small smile about something. “Well I guess I better get him, make sure he doesn’t get lost on the way to the car. I’ll see you later Lo!”

“My names Logan, and goodbye Patton.” He waved off the bouncing ball, taking a seat at the cafe to watch Roman play. Even though it was past the playtime, as evident by the hands on the big clock being past the words PLAYTIME that replaced the 4 and 5, he still played with the little girl who was left as their parents were late. Logan just couldn’t understand how he was so good with people. All the students who came in and went to him seemed a little bouncy on their toes as they left. Roman claims the same happens to the kids he tutors but he denied it, saying he couldn’t see any difference in them. Logan didn’t realise how long he had been sitting there for, lost in thought until Roman pulled up a seat beside him. He sighed when he saw his massive grin. “Nothing did or will happen.”

“I never said anything did. I was grinning about that I saw you smiled at a pun. Honestly I feel offended that you smiled at his because I’ve been telling you some for years and haven’t even gotten the smallest sign of a smile yet he could get one out of you just like that.”

“I wasn’t smiling at the pun.”

“Oh, so there was something else.”

“Why can’t I just smile and have it be over nothing?”

“Because you don’t smile anymore.” 

The tone suddenly dropped, a silence falling over the two for a bit. Logan didn’t look up at Roman who was giving him a gentle stare. After a few moments the Logan suddenly stood up, the chair scraping against the wooden floors. “You know how to pack up.”

“Oh Lo, you know I didn’t mean-”

“Don’t call me that.” Logan snapped, making Roman shut his mouth. Logan’s expression softened slightly, eyes apologising. “I will see you in the morning.” He received a nod from Roman as he walked out. Even though there was still an hour until they were suppose to shut, there was currently no one else in apart from them and some students who offered to clean up the shelves for some pocket money. Logan’s leather shoes trotted along the pavement as he made his way home, hands in the pockets of his heavy jacket. Soon the keys were clicking the lock open and they were dropped with a clank into the bowl that sat upon the table. The jacket was shrugged off and hung up neatly through routine, shoes shortly following suit. Logan made his way straight to the his office, sitting down in the dark blue leather chair that was positioned behind the oak desk. The draw was slid open to allow him to pull out a black fabric covered book. It was opened, revealing pages upon pages of neatly writing words, dates differing from hours to months. His mother taught him that showing pain and emotion was weakness, so to allow a book to keep them locked up and safe was the better option. Logan found a new fresh page, crisp white seeming to shine in the dim light. A fountain pen was picked up from the cup that kept his desk neat and was soon spilling its ink along the pages, expressing emotions it shouldn’t be able to.

Scribbles.


	3. Tears Were Spilled

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The library boys get a bit emotional in front of their new friends.

Splash.

Soft rain drops hitting the glass woke Logan up from his deep slumber. Although the bags under his eyes begged for him to stay in bed and get more sleep, his logic made him shuffle his feet across his floor to continue his morning routine. A coffee for breakfast was all he treated himself to as he got ready. The pyjama shirt was replaced with the usual black polo and suit pants follow. The blue tie slid around his neck and was loosely tied and adjusted to sit properly on him. The coffee cup was discarded into the sink as Logan made quick work of his shoes and jacket before he headed out into the rain. His stomach rumbled and his eyes ached as he regretted himself for staying up late the night before.  _ ‘It was illogical’ _ , he thought as the rain pitter-pattered against his head.  _ ‘Why was I being so bothered something that really meant nothing? Roman was just speaking his mind, and that’s alright. He was just pointing out facts, so why were the facts bothering me so much?’ _ Logan stopped in his tracks and licked his lips quickly to confirm it. Tears were flowing down with the rain slowly along his cheeks. It didn’t help his already aching eyes and so Logan quickened his steps so he could hurry out of the cold that was stinging the tip of his nose and into the warmth of his library. The key trembled slightly at his freezing fingers but soon the lock clicked and Logan was in the warmth, naturally bringing a smile to his face. The heater and lights kicked in and Logan seemed to properly wake up, no matter how little sleep he got. By the time Roman walked in with his loud voice echoing through the library about how the weather was going to ruin his hair Logan had cleaned himself up, tears and tiredness pushed aside. The prince seemed to not notice anything and if did, he knew better than to ask from how they ended things yesterday. The library was opened at the exact time of 7:30 like everyday, the cafe running at full speed and Logan extremely needing the distraction from his mind that seemed to be racing and his heart that was wondering.

The children he had tutored for a while smelt something fishy when Logan yawned a few times and seemed to drift off when the students were writing away as he usually likes to hide any sign of ‘weakness’ like being tired and to keep his thoughts on the lesson. He insisted he was fine and most of the students dropped it...except for-

“It’s totally about Patton isn’t it?

“No Lucy, now let’s get back to this math that you were struggling with just yesterday.”

“Oh no, I’m perfectly fine. I practised all night and understand everything now.” Lucy beamed. “So spill the beans sir.”

Logan gave her a blank expression for god knows how long, but she kept wiggling her eyebrows and a smirk covering her face that eventually broke him. He sighed and the smile she did could’ve powered the town. “I got little sleep last night because Roman pointed something out that now makes me afraid…”

Lucy’s face softened, eyes kind with a sense of understanding. Truth be told, Roman and her were the only people who knew what had happened in Logan’s past. Roman; because he was there when it happened. Lucy; she came in late one day to a  _ slightly _ upset Logan crying into Roman's shoulder. 

“Oh Lo….why are should you be afraid? What if it's a new start for you? You can make amends to your feelings. You can't live your life behind a curtain forever. Pain is meant to be felt, because it allows you to feel the great emotions stronger.”

Logan was silent. His gaze was on the work in front of them, trying to work out the equation left unsolved to try and distract himself. Soon his vision was blurred and Lucy was wiping his tears away from his face. “But what if….it hurt so much, I don't know if I can take something like that again.”

“But what if it's magical? This could change your life, this could be so good for you. Maybe just give Patton a chance. He makes you smile and-”

“Hey kiddos! What's going on?” Patton was smiling like the Sun, pulling the seat up next to Logan. It instantly dropped when he realised Logan was crying. “Oh god, what's the matter bud?”

Logan didn't turn around at first. He was going to flat out ignore him until Lucy raised her eyebrow at him and he sighed. “I'm just figuring some stuff out and-” he couldn't finish his words before he was pulled into a hug.

“Shh, it's alright Lo. I've got you.” The softness in his tone and the warmth he gave Logan made him crack as he started crying softly into his shoulder. A hand rested on the back of his head to keep him close while another ran up and down his back, making him feel cared for. He had lost track of time but when he looked up Lucy had cleared her stuff and was gone. He turned his gaze to Patton who gave him the sweetest smile it was almost sickening. He tried to return one, but after failing he just dropped his head back on to his shoulder. A silence fell between the two, Logan focusing on the hand still tracing his spine that made him shiver. The curiosity of a question got the better of him as he asked “Why do you care Patton? What seems to be so special about me for you?”

“Well jeez Lo, there's no one answer. I just hate seeing anyone sad, especially my friends.”

“Did….did you just say….friend?”

“Of course I did! You're such a sweet and kind person, why wouldn't we be friends?”

Logan lifted his head again to see a large smile across his face, giving the corner of his eyes crinkles. A soft, real smile drifted over his own face as well, settling with the dusty pink over his cheek. They were both staring at each other for a bit, a nice warmth surrounding them until Logan realised what was happening and stood up quickly, snapping Patton out of it too. “I apologize for my behaviour. I will make sure to keep my feelings under control next time.”

“Lo, you silly goose! I didn't mind, this was really sweet.”

“Well….I have work I must attend to. I am sorry to leave you-”

“Oh it's ok! I'll just follow you then, it must get lonely walking around by yourself.”

Logan stood there for a moment. If he wanted to keep this 'friend’ he had made he should probably hang with them. “I guess you can accompany me with my tasks.”

“Oh yay! What fun! Maybe I can also help you too!” Patton jumped up and stood next to Logan, sides pressed together slightly that made his cheeks pink and lips let out a giggle. 

Logan's faced flushed too as he walked around, assisting people and organising the books with the help of Patton

\---

Virgil was, again, getting distracted by Roman playing with some kids. With a headphone pounding loud music into his ear, he drummed his pencil against his empty sheet. Although he couldn't hear them, the smiles and obvious laughter that they all shared made Virgil's heart swell from seeing the enjoyment. He pushed his luck too far though, for Roman was about to check Virgil out when he caught him staring. Throwing him a wink, the hooded boy went red and buried his head down to try and actually write something. 

Roman smirked, whispering something into the girls ear beside him. She looked over at Virgil and smiled, nodding before running over to him and tugging on his sleeve.

Virgil looked up annoyed until his eyes rested on her. He softened a little bit. “What do you want?”

“Well sir, we were wondering if you would like to play with us.” Her hopeful shimmering green eyes melted Virgil's heart, and so unlike what he usual would, he responded with “What are you playing?”

“We're playing high tea, and the m-magesy would love for you to join us.”

Virgil looked over her and finally paid attention to the little cups and table set up, teddies filling in the gaps of the children who already left. He sighed. “Give me a minute ok?”

She happily nodded and skipped back over, taking her space in the table. 

Virgil made quick work of cleaning up the table he was sitting at until everything was in his bag. He thought for a moment before pausing his music and putting his headphones away. He trotted over and sat his bag next to the throne before making it to the others. 

Roman was the first to speak up. “Ah, my dear boy. I'm so glad you got the invite.” He smirked slightly, making Virgil blush and dig his nails into his palm in annoyance. “Why don't you take Tigger’s spot from the table then.”

Virgil saw the Tigger teddy next to Roman himself and sighed, moving it back a bit before sitting down. The small girl who went up to him handed him a plastic tea cup and offered him some tea from the plastic tea pot. He nodded silently and the other kids went back to their chittering, asking Roman and now Virgil questions about stories. Virgil listened to the amazing and wild stories he told the kids and not understanding how he was suppose to compete with it. So instead of telling, he quickly grabbed his sketchbook and got the children to describe monsters that lurked around for him to draw. The detail the kids gave of them have Virgil the perfect amount for his to draw up until the last freckle. Being so distracted with the adorable kids and the feeling of the pencil on paper, he didn't notice the gaze Roman had on him. The look with a small smile that said so many things and how he shuffled just that little bit closer until their knees touched. 

Roman and Virgil worked together to entertain the kids. Roman would talk about the heroic stories each of the kids did to fight against these monsters while Virgil drew the scene out, showing the kids at the end that made them gasp and beg for more. Before they knew it, the last kid had left and the time settled onto 6. Virgil sighed happily, slowly falling back to Earth from his daze of bliss. It was then he realised how close he and Roman were, making him as red as the decor. He went to shuffle away but was stopped when Roman grabbed his wrists, flushed a bit as well.

“I….just needed to say thank you. These kids mean so much to me a-and to see them happy like th-that is just so ama-azing.” 

Virgil looked up to see that tears were starting to fall down Roman's face. He didn't really know how to help someone else going through this, so he just did what Patton did to him. He pulled the prince into a soft hug.

“I'm s-sorry, they just are s-so perfect and-”

“Shhh Roman, it's ok.” Virgil played with Roman's hair, the other hand rubbing circles into his back.

For a while they sat there, just holding each other like that. Both faces flushed with embarrassment and tears rolling down one to land on his leather boots.

Splash.


	4. A Nice Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman did a sneaky and Virgil is a nervous boy.  
> ~~  
> Warning: Panic attack description

Scrape.

Roman was cleaning the area of the cafe after the library had closed. Humming one of his favourite songs when he’s working in the cafe,  _ Gaston _ , he dusted and broomed after pushing the tables and chairs to the side. He insisted that he would pack up after Logan’s emotional afternoon, not letting him know of his own. Lights flickering off to hide the cakes and lettering of his little part to the library, the rest of it was soon turned off as he walked out. Gloves on to keep his fingers from freezing, he made his way down the road. Like Logan, he was lucky to be able to be walking distance from the library. Starting to break into a light jog (which was awkward considering his prince outfit wasn’t fit for running), his boots trotted heavily along the apartments before turning into the cul-de-sac. Nose starting to go pink from the cold, he made quick work of the keys and rushing inside. Taking a sigh. He turned the lights on and the heater to full blast. As much as he loved to play the prince personna as if he was actually one, he went straight to his room to take off the boots, suit and makeup that started to weigh him down. Getting changed into his Disney pyjamas, he played some soft rhythms through his phone to calm his already exhausted brain from over working anymore. Only having leftovers to eat, the aroma of pasta goodness filled the house as he waited for the microwave to stop. He could finally let his expression be true to itself in the safety of his own home. He didn’t smile, or look that joyful at all. Bags under his eyes and poorly taken care of skin that the makeup hid so well, his posture slumped more than his usual ‘royalty’ pose. 

Beep beep beep.

Pulling the container from the microwave and sitting in the corner of the couch, he started to eat in a silence as he tried to pick a movie from his completely adult section of movies….a variation of Disney, Dreamworks and other cartoon movies.. His expression almost seeming emotionless as he finally settled on Winnie The Pooh. Finally a gentle small smile was on his face as he hummed the tune. When he saw Tigger on the screen his smile grew as it reminded him of Virgil and the kids. The story telling and sketching Virgil did for them. He cringed a little as he remembered how emotional he got and his cheeks heated up from the memory of the hug. He honestly didn’t expect it from Virgil. Someone who seemed to hate him  _ initiated _ the hug and stayed with him until Roman basically demanded for him to leave so he could go home. Even then Virgil seemed hesitant but left the library with a Patton happily skipping behind. A soft smile was on his face as he relished the feeling before Roman suddenly snorted. Choking on his pasta, he was in a laughing fit. Gasping for air as he couldn’t get a breath between his laughter, he remembered that he slipped a note into Virgil’s pocket during their hug. Don’t be mistaken, he didn’t fake it. They were very much true tears, but Roman was just always prepared to leave a little something for a cute guy.

\---

Virgil had immediately went to his room, grunting to let Patton know who went to start dinner. He sat at his desk and pulled out his sketchbook. Falling on to an open page, he stared….and that’s what he did for 45 minutes until Patton called him downstairs. Groaning in annoyance, he basically stomped down the stairs to the table. Patton had a small concerned smile on his face that calmed him down almost instantly. He sat down on the table and started eating his chicken. He never really said it, but he was grateful that Patton took the time to learn how to cook proper food for them after….

“So I saw you were helping Roman today.” Patton said, looking down at his food but Virgil could hear the smile on his face. Of course he would point it out.

“One of the kids wanted me to come over and play with them.”

“Awww that’s so just the sweetest gosh-darn thing! I overheard you guys making some wild stories, was it fun?”

_ Surprisingly a lot. _ “I guess.”

“You have to give me more than that kiddo! How was it like hanging out with Ro?”

_ Amazing. _ “It was alright.”

“Juuuuussssttt alright?” 

Virgil looked up to see Patton looking at him, shimmering his shoulders and wiggling his eyebrows in a way that couldn’t stop him from laughing. “Shut up.”

“Watch your language kiddo.”

“Yea yea. Thanks for dinner Pat, I’ve got work to...do…” Virgil was reaching into his pocket to put his headphones back in when he felt a foreign piece of paper in his pocket. He pulled it out to reveal a phone number. Who’s it was was evident by the small crowns places on the top of every 0, making the hooded boy blush. Patton raising a curious eyebrow jumped on the table to look at the paper from above. He gasped excitedly when he recognised the design. “AWWWW THIS IS SO ADORABLE!!”

Virgil trying to make an annoyed face at his brother just sulked away, message he wanted not really effective by the blush on his face. “It is not!”

“IS TOO YOU BIG SOFTY!!”

“LA LA LA I AM NOT LISTENING.” Virgil called back, blocking his ears until he made it back to his own bedroom. Sighing, he laid down on his bed, school work to be forgotten about as he stared at the number. It was calling out to him to just do it but the growing anxiousness was trying to hold him back.

_ “What if he didn’t think anything of that hug?” _

_ “What if he just sees you as a loser?” _

_ “Emo?” _

_ “Failing student?” _

_ “He graduated last year and he already owns a cafe. What are you going to do?” _

_ “Nothing.” _

_ “You’re an angsty teen who is just good for no-” _

“He really likes you kiddo.”

Virgil’s attention snapped up to Patton who was in his doorway. “Don’t you remember the rules about privacy Pat?”

“I do, but your door was cracked open and I heard your breaths being really heavy as I walked past. I didn’t mean to intrude, I was just worried.” Patton’s face told it. His smile was full of concern as his eyes tried to tell Virgil a million different heart warming things.

“It’s alright, I’m just….what if he doesn’t like me in anyway? What if he sees us as a tutor-student relationship? He is just so much better than me and I’m scared that he’ll think of me as nothing and-”

“Virgil, calm down.” Patton had swiftly sat next to the laying down Virgil, taking a hand between his own. “I see the way he looks at you when you’re not looking. Believe me, he doesn’t see you as just a student. Besides, he only graduated last year himself, right?”

Virgil was afraid of his voice cracking, so he just nodded slowly.

“Exactly. He won’t see you like that, you just need to believe it.” 

With the calming traces of Patton’s fingers across his knuckles, Virgil’s breaths started to even out again. His mind had slowed down and wasn’t screaming at him about everything bad that could happen. Almost like routine, once Virgil clung on to Patton’s hand a bit tighter to ask him not to leave Patton shuffled on to the bed more, lifting his younger brothers head into his lap. Sighing contently as his hair was being played with, his eyes looked up to the blue shining orbs of his brothers. His protector. “I’ll stay here with you, but I’ll promise not to look unless you show me.”   
Smiling gratefully up at Patton, he grabbed his phone from his patched hoodie and opened up contacts to add the new number in. After a few shaky breaths he got the courage to open messages and send a text that took him 10 minutes of rewriting and convincing from Patton that it was fine.

anxious-emo: hey disney nerd

Virgil stared at his phone for 5 minutes. Panic was starting to set in again as the seconds tick by. Patton continued to play with his hair lightly, reassuring him that he was just busy. Virgil’s thoughts were getting loud again, betraying himself and taking his breath away. He wasn’t going to be able to stay rooted for very long. He was just pathetic and-

Ding.

They both froze as they looked at the screen

👑RoRo👑: hello dark and stormy night

Patton shrieked in joy, making Virgil jump and laugh with a smile. “Calm down calm down, he….I’ve got this.”

Patton nodded but was still jumping up and down in excitement. “I’m just so happy for my little brother.”

“Alright, thanks Pat. Now stop jumping otherwise you’re going to make the bed hit the….wall.”

Scrape.


	5. Background

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Logan gets triggered and lashes out at Patton.  
> ~~  
> Warning: Negative thoughts, kinda panic attack stuff

Tap.

Logan's nails were neatly trimmed, looking identical aside from size, which meant the taps sounded almost musical as it went from deep to high pitched. Everytime it was the same pattern, tapping quickly beside each other with exactly a second break before the taps started again. He knew his mother would be disappointed, she always thought tapping was as bad as biting nails. But he couldn't help it. It kept him grounding, being able to hear the constant echoing of the surface being disturbed because of him. That he affected something, that he really did do something and wasn't just  _ existing _ . Learning also did the trick. Getting lost in a book where he could learn about anything and everything made him felt important, especially when it was about space. He didn't like people knowing though. He didn't want them to think he was weird or had a problem. He didn't want to be forced to think that he did it because of his problem like his father told him. This didn't work though, when he couldn't help himself to correct people when they got something wrong or to rant about space for 10 minutes when someone said something as simple as “star”. It made it even more obvious when someone corrected him. He never took criticism well. Especially when he was known as the library owner who can tell you exactly what happens in every single book lined up on the shelves or the tutor who can tell you the first two hundred numbers of pi without a breath. He clutches his hand into a fist and has to physically bite his tongue until it starts to bleed for him to not argue that he was actually right. His world starts to spin and make him sick as he excuses himself to go in the bathroom and sob. He is hardly functional for the rest of the day and he gets no sleep to practice and practice and revise and revise what he got wrong to make sure it never happened again. Roman was the only person around who knew what happens when he got something wrong. He hated people thinking he had something wrong because he didn’t want anyone to think of him as anything different to the knowledge he was. So he tapped his fingers away to keep himself grounded when he couldn’t learn, to not lash out with the emotions he spent so long to keep buried. He tapped away to make sure no one would be able to know anything was wrong, to get rid of his worries through his fingertips, hoping the item being abuse by them would absorb his emotions. 

Currently, he was tapping away as he was worried about Lucy. She had come in earlier than usual and went to grab a book that instantly turned Logan’s worries on. With the book Alice In Wonderland in her grasp, she sat down in the farthest corner of the library and hid her face behind it as she started to read. Logan knew that pose. It meant she wasn’t ready to talk about what happened. He couldn’t leave her though. He  _ needed _ to keep an eye on her, especially when he saw the beaten knuckles holding tightly onto the book and the tears that covered her cheeks when she lowered the book slightly. He was standing there, waiting for the moment where she would put the book down and want someone with her. He needed to make sure he was there for her when it happened. Without knowing it, Logan had taken up a father figure in Lucy’s life and he needed to make sure he protected her at all costs.

“My golly Lo, what did the shelf do to deserve such a harsh beating from your fingers?”

Logan jumped, taking a step back from the shelf. He already could feel the ground leaving his feet as he couldn’t tap anymore. He cleared his throat, making sure no evidence that anything was wrong. “Nothing. I was merely standing here and tapping my fingers. Is there a problem with that?”

“Well of course not! It’s just that you look kinda lost.” Patton’s voice was full of worry and concern, which a friend was suppose to do when your face was becoming more pale by the second as stuff started to spin around you. But Logan just wasn’t use to having a friend yet. 

“I, no I’m fine, I just… I need to go to… I got to-” he turned to Lilly but saw Roman already holding her as she seemed way calmer than before.

_ Wow, you can't even take care of her. _

_ Can you do anything right? _

_ Honestly you should just give up. _

“Lo, what’s going on? Can I help?”

“Patton, no, stop!” Logan shouted at him, leaving Patton as well as the other two who heard in the corner as he ran off through the shelves.

Patton stood there, shocked and confused and feeling guilty. He didn’t notice he had started crying until Roman placed a hand on his shoulder and snapped him out of it. 

“It’s been a long week for him. It’s not your fault though, I’m sure he’ll tell you soon.” Roman spoke softly, getting a small nod in response. “Come on, we’re going to read some Alice In Wonderland.” Roman walked Patton over to Lucy who was sitting in the bean bag corner. She looked up and gave a soft smile to Patton, it looking a bit strange with the tear stains on her cheek. They all sat down together, the sounds of their breathing and her broken voice reading the sixth chapter of the book calmed them all down.

\---

Roman was doing a final check around the library before closing up. He had sent Lucy and Patton home, of course not before getting a flirt line in with Virgil and was cleaning the stray books from the shelves. Even though he assumed that no one was here, he knew that Logan would somehow find out that he didn’t check and he would rather not get in trouble by an agitated Logan in the morning. The door creaked as he opened it and when the sound of sobs filled his ears he realised that he didn’t see Logan leave earlier. He walked in properly and saw a pair of glasses, smashed like they had been thrown against the wall. He looked across to see Logan collapsed, slouched with puffy red eyes. Streams and streams of tears stained his cheeks and his hair was a mess. It looked like he tried to take off his tie but left it hanging loosely around his neck. “Oh god Logan.” Roman rushed to his side. “Can I touch you?”

Logan nodded, collapsing against him. He seemed almost dead, shallow breathing with tears silently falling. He didn’t reciprocate the hug that Roman gave him, he just needed to embrace the warmth that Roman gave off. Trying to follow Roman’s breathing, his eyes were starting to give into the exhaustion and he fell asleep.

\---

Logan woke up. Feeling exhausted and eyes stinging whenever he tried to open them, he felt around to find himself in his own bed. Confused to how he got there, he picked up his phone to hope that Roman texted him about what happened. His breath got caught in his throat when the time read 3:46. He immediately opened his messages to text yell at Roman until he saw he already have a text from him.

‘dont flip your shit, ive got the library under control’ ‘i told the students you wouldnt be in but theres probably someone you want to explain some stuff 2’ ‘he was really worried’

Logan sighed, laying on his bed and thinking. Patton didn't deserve to be yelled at yesterday. He didn't mean to, he's just never had someone who….cared so much. Roman was the only exception, and he hated how he  _ wanted _ Patton to know about him and care. He hated it because he was starting to care for the man in the glasses and grey cardigan and his little brother. Logan groaned and got out of bed, throwing the most, and only, casual clothes he had. Leaving in sweats and a non professional hoodie, by the time he walked he arrived at the library it was already 4:57. Cursing himself for not being efficient with time, he open the door to run straight into someone's chest. “I apologize, I was thinking about- oh.” He looked up to see Patton staring at him with a smile.

“Hey Lo, I was so worried about you yesterday! Virgil knows, I was so scared something bad happened!” Logan looked around to see Virgil trying to hide his flustered face; Roman must've gotten to him again. 

“Yes, I....I'm sorry about yesterday. I was wondering if….you wanted to stay after closing so we can….talk and 'hang out’ per say.”

Patton gasped. “I would LOVE that! We can watch movies and eat snacks and I'm sure Virgil will love to spend some more time with Ro!”

“Shut it.”

Logan actually smiled a little bit. “Well, I guess if you'll come in then, we can 'hang’ until it closes so we can, um, watch movies.”

\---

They all sat in the bean bag corner, Mulan being projected against the wall. Roman was whispering stuff to Virgil that either made him giggle or go completely red and try to curl deeper into his hoodie. Logan leant against Patton's shoulder, not needing to reciprocate the side hug that he was given because Patton understood now. “Thank you….for staying.”

Patton smiled down at him. “Why would I leave? I love hanging with you.” 

Logan smiled back. “I like hanging with you too.” He put his hand on Patton's leg and started to move his fingers.

Tap.


	6. What A Trigger

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman didn't mean to do anything harmful to Virgil  
> ~~  
> Warning: Negative thinking

Snore.

That was the sound Virgil was making as he had fallen asleep on his work. Roman had managed to keep the little kids from waking him up and asking for him to draw, despite the whining he had to endure from the twenty kids who wanted Virgil to draw for them. But he was a daring prince, and his majesty was able to play and tell all the kids stories until they were picked up. Roman started closing his cafe, quietly cleaning and packing up as to not wake Virgil. He looked up when he heard a soft giggle to see Patton and Logan watching him tiptoe around the student passed out on the table. His checks warmed up as he gave an awkward shrug before he continued. 

A final brush of the broom here and there and stacking the last chair up left only one job to do. He knelt down next to Virgil’s chair and smiled softly. The boys head was buried in his hoodie and his fringe fell across his face. The small snores that fell from his mouth were somehow adorable to Roman. He put his hand on his shoulder and shook him slightly. “Virgil,” he whispered softly, “I think it’s time for you to go home.”

The boy groaned, scrunching up his face before his eyes fluttered open. Seeing Roman brought a small smile on to his face, until he realised what he was doing and his face brightened up red. He sat up, black charcoal from the paper on the table smudged across his cheek that made Roman laugh lightly.

“Here, let me get that for you.” He licked his thumb and wiped off the markings. The actions just made Virgil’s face brighten up more as he pushed his arms away playfully.

“Stop it you lunatic,” he grumbled.

Roman’s smile was wide, splitting his face. “Only because you asked so nicely.” His hand instead rested on Virgil’s thigh. “So you going to sleep here for the night or are you going to pack up?”

Virgil didn’t hear what Roman said. All he could notice was the hand on his thigh. How it pressed into him and the heat felt like it burnt at the touch. All he could recognise was how close it was to him.

_ “Does he know? Is that why he’s touching me there?” _

_ “Of course he knows. It’s so bluntly obvious anyone could tell a mile away.” _

_ “Why would you think he would ever see you as a-” _

“Virgil?” Roman’s face was wrinkled with worry. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”

He’s chest seemed to be collapsing on itself, eyes widened with panic as his hands started to shake, lip quivering. He couldn’t trust himself to speak. He was afraid that his voice would out him more. He stood up, the chair falling backwards from the force as he ran out, leaving his art and school supplies across the table.

Patton and Logan looked up from where they were talking to look at what the sudden noise was, only to see Virgil running out and Roman kneeling there in shock. 

“Roman, what did you do?”

“I didn’t do anything!” Roman said defensively. “We were just talking and he had suddenly just tensed up and ran.”

“Did touch him at all?”

“Pardon Patton?”

“Did you touch him at all?” Patton asked gently.

“No. I mean, just his thigh but I didn’t touch him inappropriately or force him or-”

“It’s ok, I know what’s wrong… I should go after him though. Thanks for this time Logan.” He smiled sweetly, earning a small one back before he got up and followed Virgil.

Roman fell from his kneeling position on to the floor. “Oh god what have I done?”

Logan went over and sat next to him. “You did nothing Roman.”

“But I did. I hurt him and what if he doesn’t want to even be friends I just-”

“You have made one mistake. You didn’t know that touch triggered him. He might not tell you why, but as long as you respect it then I’m sure he’ll forgive you.”

Roman took a deep breath and nodded. “Yea, you’re right. You’re always right.”

“I know. Now, I reckon you should pack his stuff up and drop it off at their place. At least then he’ll be ready for school tomorrow.”

“But I don’t have their address.”

“Patton gave it to me, I’ll send it to you.”

“Ohhh really.” Roman wiggled his eyebrows suggestively.

Logan slapped him. “Shut up and clean up Virgil’s work.”

\---

Roman stood in front of their door, Virgil’s bag clutched to his chest. Why was he nervous? He shouldn’t be nervous. It wasn’t like he was going to see Virgil, Patton was probably going to be the one answering the door. He gave himself a little pep talk and then he was ringing the doorbell. He opened his mouth to greet Patton, but his words got caught in his throat when he saw Virgil. Virgil with his eyeshadow wiped away and his hair pushed back. Virgil who was wearing sweatpants compared to his usual skinny jeans and his jumper unzipped to show his MCR shirt. Virgil, who at the sight of Roman, crossed his arms and crouched into himself to appear smaller. 

“What… what are you doing here Roman?” He tried to say with a bite in his tone, but instead it came out nervous.

“I just… your bag, you left it all so I… here.” Roman held out Virgil’s bag for him to take. 

Hesitantly, he reached out and grabbed hold of it. “... Thank you.”

Roman gave a single nod before turning around and walking away. He only got to the street though before he was stopped in his tracks. 

“Wait.” Virgil ran up to Roman and grabbed his wrists. His face was flushed red but he looked somewhat confident. “We ordered pizza… you can join us and… and I want to tell you something. About why I freaked out… because I trust you.”

Roman’s face broke into a smile. “I would love to.”

\---

Patton was in the kitchen, wrapping up the leftover pizza for future meals. Virgil was sitting next to Roman, knees touching as they watched The Nightmare Before Christmas, Virgil’s choice of course. Roman was not surprised at all. “Thank you Ro, for understanding,” Virgil whispered. When he didn’t get a response, he looked up to his face and had to cover his mouth so he didn’t snort too loudly.

Roman was asleep, his head leaning back against the couch with his mouth wide open. He had a trail of drool going down from the corner of his mouth.

Virgil pulled out his phone and took a photo before draping a blanket over the prince like character. His face rested to a small smile. “Goodnight.”

Snore.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I'm really good at chapter descriptions?


	7. Content

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Patton gets something off his chest that's been bugging him. Roman and Virgil have an interaction that leaves them smiling.  
> ~~  
> Warnings: Nothing that I noticed, let me know if you spot anything

Sigh.  
Logan let out a heavy breath as he looked up at the opening doors, expecting to see a certain dramatic man, but instead being greeted by a couple who he recognised had visited a few times. He gave them a friendly smile before looking around the rest of the library. He had opened at his usual time in the morning but was confused when Roman did not enter at least 30 minutes after. Checking his messages to make sure he didn’t call in sick, he huffed as he got to work. Logan was counting his lucky stars that it wasn’t busy today, meaning he was able to go between doing his usual business in the library, hands out discount cards and apologise to the regulars of the cafe while answering any questions that visitors came up to him and asked.  
About two hours later, Roman came rushing into the library, immediately going to his cafe and starting to set it up. He was a mess. Not even in his Prince outfit, hair a birds nest on top of his head which was a sign something was definitely wrong or not right.  
Logan watched Roman run around like a turkey without its head as he got the chairs out and ready and getting the coffee machine started up. Observing him, Logan noticed that those were indeed the clothes that Roman went with when he went to give Virgil back his bag. (Logan doesn’t understand the need to change clothes depending on the situation as he believes formal is always the way to go, nor the need to get your friends to check your outfits to make sure it’s ok for said situation. But Roman did both, and he wasn’t going to tell him how he criticizes his actions, especially since Roman is his only lasting friend from school). Knowing this, Logan came to a conclusion and went up to the counter Roman was under, trying to fix the plug that fell loose. “Roman, did you sleep at Patton and Virgil’s house yesterday.  
Thunk.  
“Oh fuuudge,” Roman groaned, standing up while rubbing the back of his head. “How did you… actually, I don’t want to know how you know. But yes, I did.”  
“Did you have-”  
“Don’t even finish that sentence.” He held up a finger in warning.  
Logan gave a single nod. “Sorry, I just assumed because that’s what two people usually do when they like each other.”  
Roman sighed. “You’re kinda correct. In this sense, we were just… connecting. I learnt new stuff about him and then we all ate pizza and watched cartoons for the rest of the night.”  
“Until you fell asleep?”  
“Yes, which lead to me waking up on their couch late which is why I am late. The house was empty but I got a morning text explaining that they didn’t want to wake me since I apparently ‘looked adorable’ in the words of Patton.”  
Logan could feel the fondness rolling off of Roman as he talked about Virgil’s text, which just made him give a small smile. “Well, I’m glad you were able to have some quality time with Virgil, even if it did make you late for work.”  
Roman face turned a shade of light pink, but his smile was wide as he started to serve the first customers of the day while Logan went back to labelling the new order of books.  
\---  
“Hey-a Logan!” Patton exclaimed as he came up towards the librarian later that day.  
“Greetings Patton,” He smiled back, turning back to stack his books and trusting that Patton will follow him.  
“May I just say how lovely it was for Roman to drop by yesterday. I wasn’t expecting him too after what happened but my golly it made Virgil so happy to see him!”  
“Yes, well I suggested it may of been the best option to at least return Virgil’s bag to him so he may attend school tomorrow with his work.”  
“Awww, that it so sweet Logan! It really meant a lot to him, he was even more panicked when he realised he had left his work but I knew you would take good care of it.”  
Logan nodded. “I take work very seriously and I understand how important it is. I would never let a student lose their work in this library.”  
They both fell into a comfortable silence fell upon them. Logan walking around, placing the last of the new books into the shelves while Patton followed him, just a step behind. Eventually, Patton spoke up, breaking it.  
“Um… Logan?”  
Logan turned around, giving his full attention to the smaller man in front of him. “Yes, Patton?”  
“I… I just wanted to apologise…”  
“I don’t understand. You haven’t done anything wrong.”  
“No, not now… but when we first met…” Patton gaze stayed down, his hands fiddling with the sleeves of his cardigan that sat on his shoulders. “You had constantly asked me to call you Logan, yet I refused to… I realise looking back how rude that was of me and I should have listened to you and I’m sorry.”  
Logan just stared at Patton for a few moments, completely bewildered. No one had ever apologized for something they’ve done to him apart from Roman. Although it got him irritated, he forced his emotions down about it because he was preparing to just power past it. But Patton apologized. He was told that his feelings matter and his chest felt like it was glowing even though he knew that was physically impossible but he didn’t know how else to describe this feeling.  
“I… Don’t know how to respond… Thank you, Patton.”  
Patton’s face released the tension it was obviously holding as he waited for Logan’s response, a small smile flourishing on his face. “It’s no problem. You deserved the apology, Logan.”  
Logan returned the smile. It was small, but it was enough to make Patton’s grow.  
“Well, I’ve got to keep putting these books back.”  
“Oh of course! Let’s finish this and then we can do whatever else you have left!”  
They fell back into their comfortable silence, Patton walking beside Logan as he finished off his work around the library. Both content as could be.  
\---  
Virgil walked into the library cafe and took his usual seat. Could he really call it his when he’s only been coming here for the past week and a half?  
‘Who is going to stop me?’ Thought Virgil has he pulled out his books. With headphones drilling music into his head, he got into his work with the comfort of the library environment helping calm his nerves about getting good grades on these assignments.  
Roman, who had given Virgil space to do his school work, couldn’t help himself after an hour and made him a coffee. He slid it in front of the boy, a smirk growing on his face at the unamused look he got out of Virgil.  
“I don’t remember ordering anything. What type of service is this?” Virgil asked, pulling his headphones down around his neck.  
“Are you really going to complain about getting free coffee?” Roman winking, getting a grumble out of the blushing boy. “Plus, I made this coffee extra special today.”  
“That scares me.”  
Roman gasped, hand covering his heart as he truly looked like an offended dramatic ass prince. “That is so rude! What would make you think that I would do anything bad towards the coffee?”  
“Because knowing your taste, there’s goin’ to be so many sweeteners in where that my teeth will fall off just from this drink.”  
“Just because you don’t have a sweet tooth doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy my taste in a drink!”  
Virgil rolled his eyes, putting his pen down to lift the hot drink up to his lips, the lips Roman were definitely not staring at. He took a sip, the drink sitting on his tongue for a second before he spat it back into the cup, scrunching up his face.  
“Oh, god dude, what the hell is that?”  
“Vanilla, one of the best flavours that add extra sweetness to your life.”  
“How dare you make my coffee vanilla. You know I like it strong and kinky.”  
Now it was Roman’s turn to blush, his mouth hung open from him being speechless.  
Virgil snickered. “Here pretty boy, take your poison of a drink.” He placed the coffee in front of Roman, who just silently picked it up and drank the coffee, still shocked about the comment. Virgil picked up his pen again, leaving his headphones down as he started to get back to work.  
He tried to ignore how Roman stared at him, but after 20 minutes it started to get to him. He looked up, eyebrow raised.  
“Why don’t you just take a photo? It would last longer.”  
He smirked when he managed to make Roman’s eyes widen when he realised he had been caught. But his eyes widened and he ducked his face into his hands when he realised Roman was actually pulling out his phone.  
“What are you doing?! Don’t take a picture of me!”  
“You’re the one who asked me too handsome,” Roman grinned. “Pleaseee, just one picture for me?”  
Virgil grumbled some curses under his breath before removing one hand to flip Roman off. His other hand was covering the lower half of his face to hide his blush and his smile that formed by seeing Roman’s eyes shimmering when he looked at him.  
Roman held his phone up and snapped a few photos for good measure, immediately setting Virgil as his home screen. He couldn’t stop grinning even after he put his phone down, looking back up at the stunned emo.  
“Thank you,” acknowledging his nervousness, Roman reached over the table and grabbed the hand that was just before expressing rude remarks and held it so softly. He didn’t mean his breath to hitch, but god was his breath taken away by the feeling of Virgil’s hand in his own. He could feel the calluses along with Virgil’s hands, the unique bumps that displayed his dedication to banging those drums with such emotion. The way his fingers slotted into his own, no resistance to one another as they held hands.  
“You’re!!! Holding!!! His!!! Hand!!!”  
Alarm bells started ringing in Roman’s head as he pulled his hand back, his face turning scarlet. “I am truly sorry, I should have asked for permission to just touch you like that I just-”  
“Ro.”  
“-I wasn’t thinking I just saw that you were nervous-”  
“Roman.”  
“-and so I didn’t know what to do because I made you nervous and your hand was just there and so I just-”  
“For the love of god, Roman shut up.” Virgil snapped.  
Roman finally shut his mouth, eyebrows scrunched with worry as he stared at Virgil.  
“Yes. You taking that photo did make me nervous. But mainly because I’m full of anxiety because that’s what I do. But… this…” Virgil reached back out and laced their fingers together. Although his face started to go the slightest bit pink and his breath went shaky at the contact of Roman’s impossibly soft hands, his voice was sure. “... this was ok…”  
So they sat like that. Virgil got back to his work while Roman admired every detail of his face, every small movement to every reaction that just made him seem more and more beautiful. Hands staying together across the table.  
Content, Roman took a deep breath.  
Sigh.


	8. Is That Tension?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman gets a visit from someone he doesn't want to see.  
> ~~  
> Warnings: Deceit like character (known as Declan in the story), mention of previous bad relationships

Thump.  
Logan was walking around the library, organising the books that were left at the front desk back to their places on the shelves. They made a heavy sound when they made contact with the shelf. Logan liked that sound, despite it being quite a repetitive and simple task. But the idea of order and making that order calmed Logan’s racing mind. As he moved through the aisles of books, he didn’t notice the shorter man who followed behind him until the man couldn’t help but speak up.  
“Hi, Logan!”  
Logan jumped, dropping the pile of books that were in his arms as he spun around to face Patton.  
“Oh my goodness gracious I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”  
“You’re… You’re fine Patton…” Logan cleared his throat and straightened up his tie to try and regather his composure. “I just wasn’t expecting to see you this early.”  
“Oh yes, well I got to finish work a bit early and so I thought I would pop in and say hello!”  
“Ah, that makes sense.”  
They stood there. Patton, with a bright smile on his face while Logan tried to think of something to say.   
“I don't think I have asked where you work…”  
“Oh, uh, I work downtown. You probably don’t know it.”  
“I know a fair amount of places around here Patton, maybe if you just told me I-”  
“It’s really just a small corner shop, like real hidden and stuff, you wouldn’t know.”  
“Ahh, I see,” Logan nodded, not noticing the relief on Patton’s face when he finally dropped the subject. “Well, I should pick these books up and get back to work.” He knelt down and started picking up the books he had dropped. There was a light thump in front of him. Looking up, he couldn’t help the small smile that was on his face when he saw Patton picking up some books. “Thank you.”  
“It’s no problem, Logan! I thought I might as well help you since it was my fault. Plus, I have nothing else to do apart from helping you with these books.”  
Logan nodded, starting to explain what jobs he had left as they both went around to stack the books.  
\---  
“Have a nice day!” Roman waved off the last customer of the afternoon tea rush. With a smile on his face, he started going around and collecting the dirty dishes. Humming Bippity Boppity Boo from Cinderella, he didn’t notice the new person who came up to the counter.  
“Damn baby, I forgot how good you looked in those pants.”  
Roman immediately stood back up, turning around from the dishwasher to look at who spoke. “What… you’re not supposed to be here Declan…”  
“Yea well, you were supposed to marry me once we got out of school, so we can’t all get what we want,” Declan smirked, taking off his bowler hat. “So what are you doing running a cafe? I thought you were going to perform on a stage?”  
“I… I’m getting there…” Roman saw a familiar hoodie just behind Declan and almost felt the edge of his lips twitch up. “I have customers, please leave me alone.”  
Declan turned around to face Virgil, growling at the back of his throat. “Fine, but I’ll be coming back Princey.” He turned on his heels, bumping into Virgil’s shoulder as he walked out.  
Virgil frowned at Declan, walking up to the counter and pulling his headphones around his neck. “Damn, who pissed in his breakfast?” He laughed, but he cut that off when he really took in Roman’s face. “Ro, are you ok?”  
The prince like character shook his head, lip starting to tremble. He slid down the counter and pressed his head back against the cupboard. He jumped a little bit when he was pulled into someone's lap but as soon as he recognised the jumper the tension left his body. He leant into Virgil’s shoulder as tears started to roll down his face. “I’m sorry,” his voice cracked as he spoke, displaying his vulnerability.  
“Hush now dorkus, there’s nothing to apologise for.”  
They sat like that until Roman’s sniffles had quietened down. Virgil grabbed him a pillow and blanket from the children area so he would be more comfortable on the ground. (Roman insisted that he would be fine to get back to work, but Virgil wasn’t having any of it and insisted that he would run the cafe for the rest of the afternoon.) Once he was sure that Roman was ok, he got up and started cleaning up the dirty dishes and taking orders for the cafe.  
Roman admired Virgil with a smile. Despite his hand tremoring slightly whenever he talked to a customer, he made the coffees to the best of his ability and took care of the cafe very well. He couldn’t help the small smile on his face as he watched him with a sense of pride. But his eyes were getting heavy and when did he suddenly get so tired? It didn’t matter, because he just snuggled further into the blanket and let his eyes fall shut.  
\---  
Logan and Patton both stopped in their usual track to the cafe when they saw Virgil standing behind the counter, wiping down the surface. They both stood there for a few moments, staring at the unexpected image.   
It was Logan who moved first. He walked up to the counter and stood in front of Virgil to get his attention. “Where’s Roman.”  
Virgil looked up and pointed down at the ground. “Sleepin’, he had a breakdown after someone came in to visit.”  
Logan’s eyes widened. “Was the man taller than Roman, brown hair, smug face, wearing a hat?”  
“I, uh, yea. Yea that seems about right.”  
Logan gave a single nod. “Thank you for letting me know. I’ll make sure that he gets home and is taken care of.”   
Virgil nodded back, looking at Roman for a moment before he spoke again. “Will he be ok?” He asked quietly.  
“Yes. It may take him a few days to be back to his normal self, but I am sure he will contact you before then. He has taken a fancy in you.”  
Virgil blushed but smiled. “Ok,” he mumbled before throwing his bag over his shoulder and leaving the cafe. “See you later Logan.”  
“Bye Logan!” Patton waved at him, smiling wide at Virgil before the two brothers left the library.  
Logan smiled and waved back, turning with a sigh. He finished off the last packing up of the cafe before he went around to get Roman. He picked the man up by supporting under his knees and back. (This was the best way for Logan to pick up the hunk of a man. He’s had many chances in getting it down pat.) Then he walked out of the library to take Roman home. It was a struggle using the keys while carrying a bulky man, but Logan managed to swing Roman’s door open. He pushed it closed with his foot and brought the man to his room. He got him out of his prince uniform and into his pyjamas (another thing he has had practice in) and tucked the man into his sheets. Going into the kitchen, he grabbed a glass of water and some pain medication to place on Roman’s bedside table as a just in case for the morning. He also left a small note, saying ‘Call me when you get up.’ and left it with the glass.   
Logan looked at his best friend. Even though he was asleep, Roman looked exhausted. He would need help over the next few days and although Logan wasn’t the best with emotions, he was determined to be there for him. But for that to happen, he needed his own sleep. So he turned around and closed the bedroom door carefully to not wake Roman up. Then, he started to head home through the wind, which closed the front door with more force than Logan intended.  
Thump.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought it would be good to post my work on here as I know that Tumblr sometimes has a hissy fit when people try to read fics. To see my work on Tumblr go check me out @spacenerrrd my dudes


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